BY ARCHITECT PIERFRANCESCO ROS

An Alchemy of Elements

Once upon a time, “Cathedral Builders” immersed themselves in the place by identifying the best orientations, taking into account symbolic, geological and geomantic influences, and understood the effect of materials, shapes and colors, giving Architecture the possibility of becoming a “therapeutic” tool for a more harmonious life.

Many architectures of the past, such as the pyramid of Cheops, the ancient Indian and Indonesian temples, the palaces of Chinese and Japanese rulers, the Gothic cathedrals of (Chartres, Amiens, Notre-Dame), etc., were conceived as true alchemy of elements each of which was supposed to resonate harmoniously with the others, as if to form a synthesis between cosmic and telluric forces.

This process of architectural alchemy did not remain confined to places of worship but also extended to entire villages, cities and territories.

The Chinese capital was built, thus, on the symmetries of Ursa Major, while Sumerian and Akkadian cities were drawn on the pattern of precise constellations: Assur, for example, repeated the pattern of Arcturus, Nineveh, again, that of Ursa Major.
Entire territories such as the fields around Glastonbury, Somerset, were altered to recreate the twelve signs of the zodiac, and those in the ancient provinces of the Champagne region were ordered through French cathedrals named Notre-Dame, echoing the arrangement of the constellation Virgo.
It is then rediscovered that architecture, in its broadest term, when it is an expression of universal archetypes and is based on an understanding of the principles of nature, generates a gradual “subtle” influence that penetrates man.

This science of building and “feeling,” we may call it Holistic Architecture, quite different from the architecture of so-called “evolved” countries, where the concept of living has now taken on a more quantitative than qualitative meaning. The cause of this impoverishment is to be found in a hardening of rational thinking, which, after bringing about the technological and scientific revolution, has progressively distanced man from the profound connotation of place and the built environment, causing that serious degradation and city effect that we suffer today.
This may not be final, but precedes a synthesis toward a turning point, which may allow the “modern” system to more consciously integrate the process that created the wonders of the past as a basis for meeting the challenge of postmodern complexity.

In fact, in the West, from the first industrial revolution to the present, a slow shift from mechanistic and reductive thinking to holistic and comprehensive thinking has been noticeable. This new systemic attitude begins to consider “nature” no longer as a simple set of parts to be exploited and sectorized, but as a complex unity in which each part is closely interrelated to the whole.

Just in recent years, as far as architecture is concerned, ancient and new holistic disciplines such as Vãstu, Feng Shui, Geobiology, Bioarchitecture and organic architecture have already been brought to light. These studies recover previously neglected areas of building, scaling back technological “progress” to meet complex human needs.

THE VITAL ELEMENTS OF HOLISTIC ARCHITECTURE
Holistic Architecture is the integration of all ancient and modern knowledge with a global character on environmental culture, such as Feng Shui, Vãstu, Geobiology, Bioarchitecture, Organic Architecture and all Knowledge on the “subtle” aspects of reality, applied in a way that respects and harmonizes the life of human beings and nature.
The understanding and application of Holistic Architecture will be able to bring present-day architecture back to its distinctiveness as an art of transforming the natural that comes from following nature and guiding it at the same time, serving the deep human need to unite the “earth” with the “sky,” not through a challenge with technological height, but through that interpretation of harmony that resides within us.

Holistic architecture should be designed respecting:

Harmony of the planet
Through a research, of the place, orientation and formal appearance, thought out in such a way as to make the best use and save the available “complementary resources” (the sun, wind, water, “electromagnetism”, etc.) and implemented considering a harmonious relationship with the use of the “main energies” (electricity, gas, etc., which also contribute to heating, ventilation, lighting, creation of electromagnetic fields, etc.).
Using of materials and products, reproducible, non-polluting, low energy expenditure, socially correct, recyclable, biodegradable.
Researching materials, forms and orientations that put the built into “resonance” with earthly and cosmic “forces” through the use of principles that underlie natural laws.

The health of the body
Through the use of materials, clean, quiet, non-radioactive, non-“conducting,” which maintain, internally, proper temperature, humidity and air quality.
Through placement that is away from places with electromagnetic disturbances such as high voltage substations, cell phone antennas, transformers, etc.
Through a collocation that is far from places with geopathic ground alterations, due to the presence of faults, aquifers, iron masses, Hartmann’s nodes, Curry, etc. (used with specific arrangements only for places of worship).
Through external and internal orientation that respects the “energy” needs of each inhabitant (through the principles of Vastu and Feng Shui).

Functional needs
Seeking a harmonious arrangement of indoor and outdoor spaces designed with the purpose of facilitating behavioral and vital habits.
Harmonizing practicality and comfort according to the natural movements of the physical body and the “energy dimensions” radiating from the human organism.

Interiority
With a construction that knows how to harmonize with the “signs” of the place by activating and re-evaluating the “experience” of past traditions.
Through “archetypal forms” that know how, in their “symbolic language,” to maintain a continuous harmonious relationship between man and nature in their corresponding “dimensions” (principles of human archetypes and symbols, organic architecture).
Using materials and colors designed in such a way as to harmonize with the “symbolic” needs necessary for each interior and exterior environment (Compass School of Feng Shui).
By adopting furnishings oriented in such a way as to give security and “energy” to those who use them (Feng Shui principles).
Through furnishings chosen in a way that harmonizes the inner growth of those who use them (psychology of living).

I believe that through the implementation of these principles, Architecture can truly become a true “organism,” a synthesis of a balance, between the forces of Heaven and Earth and human functional needs, thus bringing the individual back from being in space to “inhabiting” it.
For the implementation of such a purpose, experience has made me realize that one must not so much have “holistic knowledge” as a new “Holistic Consciousness” gained through a “Path of Knowledge.”

DESIGN EXAMPLES:
Let us now see how the various realities of a building (place, soils, external and internal orientation, materials, forms and colors) approached with a systemic attitude, can make people rethink architecture, as an Art that can contribute in “subtle” ways to human evolution.

Il territorio
The territory
In various design or consulting cases, a thorough land survey is often required even before designing. I take as an example a job done on land near Belluno near a small lake with a hotel jutting out over the lake now abandoned with mountains behind it. The client, before building a private clinic to care for the elderly and terminally ill, wanted to know what kind of energy the land had and where to build. In this case, the first thing to do is to orient oneself in the surrounding space and carefully examine and “feel” the landscape.

In this particular case, the land was all under a boost due to a nearby fault; “Testing” the land, one could sense that the energy of the place was strong, “exciting,” and “pushing up,” nothing better to accommodate people who need to recharge. Such a charged terrain was also good for people who had very high blood pressure or suffered from heart disease, a matter confirmed later by the fact that in talking to some of the inhabitants of the poto it was discovered that a doctor himself had advised people with heart disease to stay there, so the pushing energy, as assumed, was not such that it could become dangerous but on the contrary beneficial.

Verifying that the spatial energy was fine, we moved on to take a closer look at the terrain, from the ripple of the adjacent mountain we notice a gully that suggests the presence of a possible underground water table (which for Feng Shui is called a Water Dragon) that descends to the terrain in question.
The hypothesis was strengthened by observing along the line toward the lake the presence of two trees choked by ivy (which for Geobiology grows especially on trees invested by soil geopaths) and a fork-shaped one near them. We then analyzed the ground energy fields and detected the presence of an underground watercourse.
Upon examination of the whole terrain, other geopathies were found. As for electromagnetic fields, we probed two high-voltage substations and their related fields and recommended that one of them be buried.

Having arrived at this point the areas neutral from geopathic interference had reduced, we then “felt” the energy near the lake and that at the inner boundary detecting the latter more charged, we finally observed the type of vegetation and where was the point where the energies of the place “embraced” reading in the territory the relationship between the 5 Elements, the 4 Animals, the position and orientation of the streets and surrounding buildings (School of Form with respect to the 4 symbolic Animals de Feng Shui).

As a result of this analysis, it was possible to determine more precisely what shape the nursing home should be (amphitheater-like in relation to the energies of the place), which way it should be entered (to the East to bring vital Wood energy into an environment so in need of life-giving energies), and how to arrange and orient the possible interior rooms (using both the Indian Vastu and the Compass School of Feng Shui).

Lot of land:
Another experience was the analysis of a house and its lot of land; a lady wanted to know whether to restore her house or buy a new one, prompted by the fact that she was not feeling very well and that her son had fallen ill with bronchitis. As we approached the entrance to the lot we passed under a high-voltage pylon that was always visible from the entrance to the house, a continuous presence that over time and all days of the year creates a not inconsiderable effect.

We observed the surrounding mountain landscape and the type of energy (Yin Yang relationship). Upon entering the property lot, a descending, sucking energy was perceived, suggesting a moist clay soil. Having observed the shape of the fence and garden so that it would have no stagnant or closed spots (note the vitality of the tree essences and their orientation) we moved on to the entrance of the house which was facing North, which for a house in general, (and especially for this one) is not very suitable since entering every day from the coldest side builds up a feeling of intimacy, loneliness and coldness not suitable for the functions of a family that usually has children guests and maintains a sense of vitality and movement. The north entrance would be fine for a single a person who does not want too many social relationships.

We surveyed the various rooms and rooms, tested the internal humidity, the quality and suitability of the materials used and their relationship (element theory), and discovered that the whole house was built on top of a layer of clay soil, and the humidity level exceeded that allowed. Obviously, the situation worsened in the rooms facing northwest and north and northeast (which Bioarchitecture considers the coldest areas of the house).
Making a rough calculation of expense for restoration and rehabilitation (which in any case did not take away the problem of soil vibration surrounding the whole area) we recommended moving to another location.

The house and its structure
Once the land, lot, and structure of the house have been analyzed, one moves on to the actual interior design or restoration. As a rule, the first step is to observe the shape of the house and its harmonious relationship with the way it is oriented with its missing parts and their directions (all investigation criteria that follow the interpretation of the Compass School of Feng Shui).

An example is that of a house analyzed that in its de facto state had the sleeping area above the garage in a southeast position. Such a position actually on a solar and energetic level is excellent for a kitchen (Vastu and Feng Shui theory), and is better reconciled for the various dynamic activities that take place, with the large ferrous masses of automobiles being poorly reconciled with the sleeping area, which was preferred to be moved to the north above a quieter area.

Then one proceeds to locate the center of gravity of the house, its heart, and observes that it is not crossed by cavities, or closet cubicles, stairs, etc., all of which would oppress it by not allowing a fluid flow of energies (by analogy one weights to a water vortex whose center, once plugged, no longer creates the surrounding dynamism).

At this point, remedies or corrective measures are recommended, which consist of rearranging rooms, sometimes following masonry work. In this regard, other examples are those of consultations done in houses where the center of gravity ended near the bathroom (a place in the house where energy descends most rapidly),or in a staircase leading to the basement. This was then done by recreating a fictitious barycenter (at a point at most one meter away from the physical barycenter) through a false ceiling in the adjacent room (which in these cases coincided with the entrance), centered and polarized with an opposing floor design that on a symbolic and “subtle” level would create an axis such that the geometric barycenter would shift (the physical barycenter still remains at its geometric point but thus decreases the energy loss).
Proceeding in the analysis of a house, we next observe the movement of energy in the rooms, which is input from the doors and attracted by the windows, lights, colors, mirrors, symbols, etc. Reading this movement makes it clearer where and how to place furnishings door openings lights etc.

Analyses made have found studio or office environments with energy passages beating on the shoulders of those working, it was then sufficient to rotate the tables in such a way that the entrance doors were controllable by those working at the desk, which in a studio area should be placed the ungo the diagonal opposite the entrance into the room (not the ungo its axis), with possibly light from the left (receptive part of the body more than the right), with the shoulders of the worker covered by a solid wall (the Turtle in the School of Form) in a position of privateness from the other tables, and possibly facing photos or posters with a calming energy for the subject (School of Ba Gua) etc.

We sometimes find houses tipped over from the point of view of heliothermal energy (of the sun) with the living area in the North and the sleeping area in the South that need to be effectively corrected (laws of Bioarchitecture and the indoor microclimate), although it is necessary to take into account what energy comes through the windows, in other words what I see, what light I have. It often happens, in fact, especially in cities where houses are surrounded by buildings, that the North is actually the South of a house that has the only decent opening and view there, or the South is the North as it is shielded by a house with cold colors that are reflected by entering the rooms and making this part colder (An analysis with double orientations is then maintained).

We then look at the thermal system, best wall or underfloor with condensing boiler (Bioarchitecture), the electrical system with biointerrupters for the sleeping area placed with star plant avoiding wires behind bed heads, and the plumbing system running close to the walls, avoiding resting areas, and with a slope that goes, if possible, from Northeast to Southwest (Vastu theory).
All of these analyses, in most cases, are subsequent to a geobiological survey of geopathic zones (aquifers, faults, Hartmann and Curry grids, etc.); these surveys are the basis for designing interiors with higher quality, healthiness, and livability.

Finally, all materials, but especially those that reside in “delicate” rooms (sleeping area, kitchen, etc.) will be chosen in a way that is environmentally friendly and respectful of reproduction cycles (bioecological materials dictated by bioarchitecture).

The home the “mirror of the soul”
One then enters the most complex and subtle aspect of the home: furnishing.
This is the world of the inhabitant’s soul; each person furnishes the space of the house in accordance with what his or her inner “world” suggests and manifests.
What we express externally to ourselves is in direct relation to what we inwardly experience.
Furnishings read in this key reveal or suggest a set of messages about a person’s nature creating, thus the possibility of a psychosomatic analysis through the symptoms of the occupant and the environment in which he or she lives to then arrive at solutions that work “therapeutically on the individual.”

To understand this concept, we observe that one principle in the reading of furnishings is that of “affinity,” that is, everyone finds what is most akin to his or her energetic (psychophysical) situation. For example, one who feels a sense of constriction will find people, partners, objects and dwellings “restricted.”
The internal condition calls an external one its kindred.
At this point one tries to read and feel in the arrangement of the furniture another principle that of “repressed” in which events (actions, attitudes, impulses) not accepted but suffered are repressed due to a defense and adaptation mechanism that regulates the human psychic system.

Repressed energy is unconsciously processed and expressed in neurotic symptoms and psychophysical or relationship disorders.
These repressed unconscious contents are projected onto people, environments, objects, etc., which symbolize the repressed potential. For example, those who have not been encouraged will have repression in asserting themselves and will translate this with aggression on people, choice of environments, objects, etc.
Consequently because of the repressed principle there is a tendency to look for living situations in affinity with the repressed principle so as to negatively reinforce the repression suffered; those who have not been encouraged will have a repression in asserting themselves which they will manifest with aggression and the choice of an aggressive environment.
And this is where furniture design viewed holistically should operate, namely in making tenants aware of the mechanism of the “repressed” thereby making them achieve greater inner freedom and independence. An attempt will therefore be made with tenants, in the said case, to seek housing situations that provide security by creating positive reinforcement that will trigger the overcoming and understanding of the “repressed.”

To sum up: those who have not been encouraged will have a repression in asserting themselves and will translate this with aggression but made aware of this mechanism will try to encourage themselves and increase self-confidence also through the choice of balanced and reassuring environments and objects.

Thus, self-healing is achieved: through positive reinforcement, the psychophysical state (identifiable with physical pathologies) heals since, by understanding the cause of the “repressed” one can transform the attitude manifested so far by positively influencing the weakened physical part accordingly (actually balances and balances the internal tension) .
For example, non-encouragement that creates fear, and somatized with back pain, once replaced with an attitude of self-confidence influences and helps resolve the weakened back.

This type of analysis, perhaps the most complex one that requires deep intuitiveness and introspection (bringing together the Ba Gua school of Feng Shui and the psychology of living) gives the possibility of furnishing with a deep and we could also say “therapeutic” attention in that by reading the living space in its aspect of “unconscious projection” and operating at harmonization through furnishing, the inner “space” of those who live there is influenced and harmonized accordingly.

Holistic Interior Design
Another focus on the psychology of a person’s living is to offer him or her the possibility of having rooms related to internal needs: a room of one’s own, a corner in which to cuddle and snuggle, a room for creative work, a room for physical practices; a room for meditation or prayer; a corner for reading; etc.
Sometimes, in fact, psychological suffering arises from not having one’s own intimate space or dimension within a house in which several people live, tying in with the fact that it is socially recognized to share everything but does not correspond to a natural human condition (found in the relationships of family members in simple cultures more tied to natural principles).

A further analysis in interior design is to provide for harmonizing environments, furnishings, colors, forms through the investigation of the energy relationships of the eight oriented Gua, and through the study of light and colors (study of color therapy) within the various environments.
One will then look at the personal horoscope (both Western and Eastern referred to the eight glyphs to the five Elements of Feng Shui) to see the best attunement of the occupants to the various directions and orientations of a house.

In addition, it is necessary to evaluate the Yin Yang relationship of furnishings and interior rooms their positions, characteristics, orientations (5 Elements of Feng Shui report).
Aspects of forms in rooms are observed, and unbalanced situations are corrected with colors, shapes and the inclusion of appropriate objects (the nine cures of Feng Shui).

One loads the areas of life example fame, marriage, wealth, etc.; in relation to related spaces in the home (through the school of Ba Gua).
Finally, one suggests the auspicious time either to start a construction site or business or to move (the vacant periods of the Japanese and Chinese numerological tradition).
In the opening of a house, rituals of purification (if there is a need for it with respect to those who have lived there before) or opening a new home will be provided.

Architecture read and felt in this way will then reveal itself no longer as a “rational space” devoid of influence on man but rather will become a “living dimension,” a synthesis of “an existential space” that can help man re-establish his own natural balance.

BY ARCHITECT STEFANO PARANCOLA

Feng shui focuses on the soul of the home, the effects of environment, colors and furnishings on the human psyche, and suggests various practical solutions to increase the harmony of those residing in the home. In this way, Feng shui amplifies bio-architecture, and when integrated, greater wholeness in building and living is achieved.

Feng shui, is not an esoteric phenomenon that has only come to prominence today, but it is also an underground current that is the subject of studies that has come to light in the writings on some famous architects (Patrick Abercrombie, Norman Foster, Ieoh Ming Pei and Gino Valle) and further back in time even in the design determinants of some of their works (Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Bank of China and Udine Resistance Monument).

Many architects have created their own formal architectural language from the analysis of natural and organic forms, Frank Lloyd Wright himself respected environmental contextuality and emphasized “that the house is born from the ground and not on the ground,” while architect Gino Valle uses the pillar as an outgrowth of the ground making it the most expressive building element and defined it as a mound of earth.

Archaic motivations are not absent in this search for roots on Valle’s part, and the naturalistic metaphor will prove particularly fruitful by generating an entire family of buildings (1950s and 1960s) whose construction theme also tends toward the archetype of the primitive hut: whether a residence or a bank, the inhabited volume rises in the shelter of a large roof supported by massive pillars.

As Renzo Piano argues: Architecture is a second nature superimposed on the real one. The architect is a kind of little godfather who recreates the environment.”
Feng shui goes further, however, and is based on Eastern concepts, rooted for about three thousand years, less felt in our culture (Yin-Yang, Five Elements, I Ching…), although intuitively followed and applied by our fathers of architecture.

It is interesting to apply these Eastern “contaminations” to interior environments such as the bathroom. Feng shui, in addition to Wind and Water, implies a deeper meaning. it indicates the oneness of the whole cosmos in the sense that the macro and the micro determine each other, just as the constituent elements of an environment influence each other and determine the environment itself; conversely, the latter with its furniture, objects, furnishings…influences its inhabitants. The environment is not something we find already made but is something that can be created by ourselves.

Therefore, by associating symbolism understood as a close link and reference to the forms transmitted by nature and symbolism as a set of propitious forms used for millennia in the divinatory arts, one can arrive at producing bathroom furnishing objects with strong formal value that positively and harmoniously characterize an environment such as the bathroom that is too often considered a result space. The bathroom according to the Compass School should be oriented toward the north, east and southeast directions related to the Elements Water and Wood in order to respect the Creative Cycle of the Five Elements by favoring sinuous shapes and colors related to these elements (light blue of various shades, blue, sea water green, in any case pastel colors).

In case of bathrooms oriented with other directions, one can intervene by balancing shapes, colors and materials following the dictates of the Five Elements.
Feng shui really means understanding nature, protecting natural ecosystems, placing buildings and facilities correctly, harnessing Wind and Water as we modify the land in order to make it welcoming and pleasant for today’s man and future generations.

BY ARCHITECT PIERFRANCESCO ROS

Preface
Feng Shui a discipline practiced as far back as 3000 years ago in China, then evolved gradually through the introduction of new theories and models, developed for the primary needs of survival and defense: making the best use of land resources from the settlement point of view, protecting oneself from cold winds, sheltering from the weather and insolation, shielding oneself, and defending oneself from possible enemies. All of this later is combined with concepts related to culture, philosophy, climate and territory, which is why similar studies and theoretical models that can be traced back to Feng Shui can be found all over the world in different eras.

Man has a heart that beats the same way all over the world; he is subject to the principle of expansion and contraction, which we may call universal in character both internally and externally to him.
Indeed precisely because of their universal significance, traces of these principles are found in theoretical models and patterns in Japan in the study of Fudo, in Peru through Sacred Earth Geometry, in Vietnam with Phong Tuy, in India with Vastu, and in the West through Geomancy. This suggests that Feng Shui in its fundamentals is not Chinese prerogative but human.

For example, in Feng Shui, the theories of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements and reflexively the Four Animals, are an attempt to build theoretical models to understand the universal laws of the deeper cycles and mechanisms of existence in order to be able to make choices that are as harmonious and beneficial as possible while respecting the environment. In every age and place, whatever the theory that goes back to these principles, human beings have always found themselves in a position of having to make choices, otherwise time would eventually make them.

Even in Feng Shui as in many traditions, as we have moved away from the source, deeper content has been lost and attachments to sometimes superstitious and limiting patterns have been created.
In order to resurrect a tradition one must first relive it, reincarnate it and not simply understand it, and at that point the tradition becomes living again, one must not get caught up in haste nor in easy formulas or assumptions, but experiment and feel…. and slowly the veil of those universal principles that have done so much writing for mankind will open.
At that point it is like talking about borders of states looking at the earth from the outside…. where are the borders?

The translation of Feng Shui, which literally means Wind and Water, says very little, but if we analyze well the wind that binds to Heaven and Water to Earth, it is like saying Heaven and Earth.

This concept implies the idea of balance between the energies of Heaven and Earth, of naturalizing the human environment using the principles that nature itself and we have. In fact, man stands in the middle between Heaven and Earth as a demiurge whose task is to best marry these two forces for the ends he chooses.

Feng Shui is to be applied by following a methodological approach that initially evaluates the School of Form or Earth Qi, covered in the Earth Way video courses, and briefly covers:

the analysis of the surroundings, the study of the viability and energy flow of the local Qi and the subsoil, the analysis of the best orientation, the use of water and greenery up to the use of environmentally friendly materials and technologies.

Next, the Compass School is used, which is linked to the Qi of Heaven, which will be covered in the Heaven’s Way video courses, with its various methods:

the Flying Stars or method called the Flying Stars or space-time method, which through a triad of numbers (Mountain Star – back dwelling, Water Star – front dwelling and Time Star – current period) suggests useful information about the energetic evolution of spaces, based on twenty-year cycles.

Next we apply the method of Bazhai or school of the eight Palaces/Houses, which evaluates the energy of the environment divided into four favorable and four unfavorable areas, superimposed later on the study of Ming Gua or personal energy, which also divides the environment into four favorable and unfavorable areas.

Next we use the methods that link personality to space and time that will be covered in the Way of Man video courses,including:

The Nine Stars Qi method and the Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi).

The Inner Feng Shui linking to Man’s Qi, the analysis of the symbolic aspects of the site and the home, the effects possessed by the conscious and unconscious forces of man driven by his deep needs, and the techniques of energetic upgrading of a space.

All this will be integrated into a comprehensive reading of the Lo Pan

Feng Shui Architecture paradigm.
To better understand the emergence of the Feng Shui Schools, let us look at the diagram above that represents the evolution of the basic universal principles used to define three major models of reading space or environment.

It all begins with Wu Ji or great emptiness or formless unity, which in our culture we may call “the Ain Sof Aur” of the Sefirotic Tree of the Kabbalah, that is, that which exists before creation or rather that which underlies as invisible energy to the visible, a principle also formulated in Feng Shui as the Anterior Sky. Next in the scheme, we have the representation of Tai Ji or Manifested Energy, which has duality as its basic principle that is presented as the stability of opposites in continuous becoming; this concept is represented by the well-known diagram of Yin and Yang.

By way of example we can mention that in evil (represented in the classical diagram by the color black) there is also good (small white dot in the black part), this is to suggest that in the world of duality there is nothing absolute or isolated, but everything is related to the whole.

What is to be meditated on in the global diagram is the figure of the circle that encloses the two opposites and not its interior, this pattern in Feng Shui is also represented with the Rear Sky.

To analyze more precisely the theory of Yin and Yang, and its effects as a dual principle in its intermediate phases, five qualities or energetic phases called Wu Xing or Five Elements were observed, then raised to eight phases to be read in space (the eight cardinal directions), and then to nine to be read in relation to the Lo Shu magic square (a map or grid of nine sacred numbers).

From this kind of analytical approach, the environment was catalogued through the energy phases described above; this study led to determining when the five energies are in harmony with each other following the natural Archetypal pattern and when they are not. As a result, all those correctives and balancing useful to remedy energetically disharmonious situations arise.

This working methodology is used to identify the favorable and unfavorable forces, which underlie in the architecture and surroundings. These forces or energies (Qi) derive from three major pathways:

The intangible path of Heaven that infuses the Qi of Heaven in its tangible aspects such as celestial bodies and the intangible ones, which are their effects on man, determining cycles and propitious moments. This Way that is linked to Time was formulated by the so-called Liqi Pai School, of the Compass, Compass or Directions, modeled in its highest synthesis within the Lo Pan..;

The Tangible way related to the Earth, which infuses Earth Qi in its tangible aspects such as landforms, architectures, and the intangible ones which are their effects on man determining atmospheres, sensations and emotions, this way that is related to space was formulated by the so-called Xing Shi School, of Form or Configuration;

The way of Man infusing human Qi, in its tangible aspects derived from conscious and conscious forces, and the intangible ones related to unconscious forces and impulses, binds to human action. There is no recognized school for Human Qi as for the first two gives always considered as main schools of Feng Shui, however in the volume series an effort has been made to bring together the various thoughts and schools that fall under this category calling it the Intuitive School.

To be even more precise, these three subdivisions that determine different systems or Schools of Feng Shui, can be classified under two main ideologies, San He (three Harmonies) and San Yuan (three Cycles). Both deal with Territory Formation and Qi distribution, however San He puts more emphasis on Territory Formation , San Yuan on Qi distribution with respect to Time. For didactic linearity, however, we will distinguish the various Schools in the three ways just listed.

In reality these patterns were not created at a desk in a linear order, but were developed through settlement experiences respecting nature and its cycles, initially for reasons of survival and defense and later refined more and more for reasons of well-being.

Archaic patterns
For example, searching for the ideal site named Xuè with a river in front and a mountain behind tied in with the need to first have the proximity of water as a source of nourishment (fishing), transportation and defense from frontal attacks; while the proximity of the mountain as an element of shelter (cold winds and bad weather), nourishment (game), to find raw materials for construction (wood) and for defense from attacks in the rear.

These primary spatial needs determined the first embryo of the Form school.
Consequently, for the same primary reasons, settlements and thus buildings (in the early days the cave with the fire near the opening) were oriented with the front facing the river to allow more visibility and defense.

Settlements were often sought with the river to the south for ease of water use, more visibility from the early hours, warmth to the often cold water area, and the Mountains to the north for reasons of defense against cold winds.

Reflexively, the house was also oriented tendentially with the front and largest openings to the south, where the rooms used for daytime activities were placed, to increase its use of passive heating. The back of the house oriented to the north, was designed with few openings where the rooms used for service and sleeping area activities were placed. These primary orientation needs determined the first embryo of the Compass school.

The origins of Feng Shui
The origins of Feng Shui are ancient.
It was recently discovered how ancient Chinese tombs dating back to the Neolithic period, 6,000 years ago, were built following certain principles of Feng Shui.

Ancient Chinese tribes were headed by wise shaman kings who possessed knowledge of the divinatory, astronomical, astrological and meteorological arts and who outlined the foundations of Feng Shui over time. In fact, especially through Fuxi (2852-2737 B.C.E.) and Yu (2205-2197 B.C.E.), the foundations of the divination system that underlies all Feng Shui theory (the cross of Hetu and the Anterior Heaven and the magic square of Lo Shu and the Posterior Heaven) were determined. Through the guidance of kings, the Chinese began to establish settlements and build cities.

Yu founded the Xia Dynasty (2100-1600 B.C.E.) which lasted, around four hundred years, later succeeded by the Shang Dynasty (1600-1045 B.C.E.) for another six hundred years, which over time slowly lost the use of knowledge, which was revived, expanded and developed later by King Wen who founded the Chou Dynasty (1045-221 B.C.E.). He is apparently credited with the creation of the Chou-i system of divination (1100 b.c.) the basis of the modern I Ching.

Another contribution on the foundations of Feng Shui was made by King Huang-ti called the Yellow Emperor who helped perfect the studies on numerology and orientation, to him we owe the basic treatise the Huang Di Zhai Jing, i.e., the Yellow Emperor’s classical treatise. The later Emperor Shing also of the Chou dynasty made important changes and insights.

In later centuries the divination arts became a branch of knowledge, managed by the Fang-Shih (formula expert). Initially they were political and military advisers of the War of the States Period (475-221 B.C.), they later became a social and political force during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) and the Three Kingdoms Era (220-280 A.D.).

During this period, Feng Shui initially called Kanyu (Way of Heaven and Earth) became a full-fledged profession. Improvements and new interpretations followed, and at the end of the Three Kingdoms Epoch and the beginning of the next Jin Dynasty (265-420), there lived Guo-Pu (276-324 CE) who made Kanyu a recognized branch in the field of Daoist arts.

Guo-Pu and another great scholar of that period, Guan-Ge, were the two most influential Feng Shui masters of the time. Both wrote books that can still be consulted today, such as Guan-Ge’s Guide the Di-Li and Guo-Pu’s Burial Book in which we first find the term Feng Shui.

During subsequent dynasties up to and including the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) the concept of orientation was even more developed, consequently more refinements, sub-schools and branches were created until the modern formulation. In fact, the Classical Feng Shui applied in the world today by masters is very similar to that applied and codified in the Qing dynasty.

With the formation of the Chinese republic (1912-1949) opposed to “esoteric” knowledge, until today, Feng Shui from millenary knowledge has been disowned and relegated to mere superstition. A number of Feng Shui masters then moved to the West divulging to the world this divine knowledge, which today we bring to light in its entirety.

FENG SHUI ARTICLES
BY CLAUDIO HECTOR MELLONI DE MEDINA

In architectural design in Feng Shui key, the final goal is to obtain environments with a vibrant, positive flow of Qi that circulates harmoniously, so that users perceive that they are living a place in an intense, full and with greater sensitivity. These are elements that professionals and technicians should take into account in their interventions, in order to create a perfect synergy between man and the surrounding environment.

When this goal is achieved, the designed well-being, deriving from environmental energy (tangible and intangible Qi) in synergy with the well-being of the body and soul, in intense and perfect harmony, contribute to creating a condition that facilitates man to be happy, beyond the permanent trials of the world in which he lives.

Growing internally, with external, precise help, based on the classic Feng Shui approach of tangible Qi (Xing Shi, of the School of Form) and intangible Qi (Liqi Pai, of the School of the Compass, Mathematical Method), allows us to find without a doubt a stimulating path to rebalance and enhance our vital energies.

The Feng Shui of the Compass is an ancient art that has been experimented for a long time, initially for the centuries in the East, capable of allowing and enhancing the energy of spaces by promoting: prosperity, health and harmony. In recent times to open a new chapter in the West, introducing a practical, in-depth tool, necessary for professionals in architecture and interior design.

Practitioners who operate without using the tools of advanced classical Feng Shui, such as the Xuan Kong Fei Xing School (Flying Stars of Space – Time), the Pa-Chai or Ba-Zhai (Method of the 8 Palaces or of the Wandering Stars) and finally the Ba Zi (Method of the four Pillars of destiny), lose a fundamental part of quality in the evaluation of the procedures for the creation and sustainability of the project objectives set by this ancient art of Wind and Water. In fact, not taking into account the characteristics of the flow and power of Qi (or Chi) as an incidence of environmental energetics and the emotional psychophysical aspects of the human being who occupies the spaces, we have a partial evaluation.

It is therefore necessary to enhance, spread and use with wisdom and absolute trust the tools of the original classical Feng Shui. In recent times, with the “New Age” some non-classical schools (not belonging to the historic Compass Schools) have also spread in the West, focused on the expectation of a result deriving from the application of an intuitive method, with an energetic return of an “animist” type.

This non-classical approach, but quicker to learn, is necessarily associated with objects and elements defined as Feng Shui (colored objects and symbols), which increasingly, also due to a fact of fashion, are subjected as a strong temptation in the eyes of potential customers with a solely commercial purpose. In this way, an ancient art that has always characterized the architecture of cities, monuments and gardens is debased.

We must then consider Feng Shui in its various interdisciplinary aspects (geology, geobiology, architecture, topography, geomancy, anthropology, philosophy, art, geography……) to consciously address the original classical tools. Taking advantage of the success and worldwide expansion of this ancient discipline of building, considered a pseudoscience and “energy matter”, we must strive to obtain the greatest possible rigor in the use of diagnostic and application tools derived from the classical method.
Just as the support of people with their will and their faith in what they do, or what they believe in, is considered valid, classical Feng Shui is also fundamental as a discipline of architecture, providing the mastery of “energy matter” and environmental Qi, beyond thought or personal characteristics.

In fact, the fundamental properties of classical Feng Shui are based on the study of Qi that can be transported or distributed by the movement of the wind, slowed down by natural or artificial volumes (buildings) or retained by water. Working with the nature of Qi means working with the art of Feng Shui.
Understanding this concept means intuiting the true essence of harmony, through the perception of Qi with the five senses (tangible Qi) and the perception of subtle Qi, that which “is felt or lived” (intangible Qi), explainable only with the original classical model of Feng Shui.

Taking into consideration only one of the two aspects of energy, and ignoring the other, we certainly lose the indispensable holistic, integral vision of the interaction with universal energy, the basis of our life, but above all of the quality of our life.

In these times when man needs reflection, peace and inner growth, we have at our disposal an extraordinary, ancient tool that works from the beginning, from the analysis of the external environment, to move on to the inside and finally arrive at the well-being of people. Feng Shui teaches us to harmonize energy integrally.

Theory is important, but even more important is the practical experience of this formidable knowledge, and better yet, its application in a conscious way.
The results can be surprising. The history of Feng Shui, with more than 4,000 years of life, demonstrates this.

GEOBIOLOGY ARTICLES
BY ARISTIDE VIERO

Biophysical detection in Geobiology
What does the term mean? Biology is the science that studies the phenomena of life and the laws that govern them; Geo is a Greek prefix that means earth, therefore Geobiology is the study of all vital phenomena connected with the earth. It can be said that it is a science that tries to discover how geopathogenic radiations manifest themselves and affect man, animal and plant. Any territory is a living reality and living there always means drawing beneficial, malefic, neutral consequences. It must be clear that an aquifer or underground aquifer radiates rays (g) on ​​its vertical, and that a Hartmann node (H) or a Curry node (C) superimposed on this radiation multiplies and excites its vibration, increasing the pathogenic entity that is channeled upwards and becoming highly harmful to health.

Detection method
When a dowser is called to perform a check-up of a house or a piece of land, he must first evaluate all the radiation and emissions of the place.
In particular those emitted by: aquifers, aquifers, underground faults, marking them with precision. In a second step, the H and C nodes, the negative or cemetery remains, or those due to minerals, radioactivity, radon gas will be identified.
Then everything will have to be checked again with the Bovis scale. Already 80 years ago, Dr. Peyré of Bagnoles de Orne in France had discovered the existence of telluric rays, vertical bands parallel and perpendicular to the Earth’s meridian, where each square measured 4 m x 4 m, and the telluric energy of these bands was expressed perpendicular to the ground, forming a network oriented in a magnetic direction from north to south, from east to west. Later the German dowser Sigfried Wittman concluded that the meshes he called polarized fields and oriented from northwest to southeast with respect to the magnetic pole of the earth measured 16 m on each side. Surprisingly the research of these radiesthetists, who did not know each other, agreed, since the Peyré grid which has a size of 4 m x 4 m can be perfectly superimposed 16 times and with the same magnetic orientation referred to the earth to that of Wittman of 16 m x 16 m. Later Dr Hartmann gave a definition and a biological scientific explanation and a detection methodology to the homonymous “H” network. This network is formed by rectangular meshes with a north-south east-west orientation. The sides of the north-south meshes measure about 2 m, those east-west 2.5 m and the intersection of the bands has a thickness of about 21 cm. At the crossing points, the energy of a magnetic nature is channeled upwards and is what gives geopathogenic effects.

The Curry network
It is an electrical network determined by cosmic waves that takes a quadrangular shape, and is placed at 45° with respect to the Hartmann network, that is from north-east to south-west and from north-west to south-east. It measures 4 m on each side for the individual meshes and the thickness of the bands is 50 cm; the vibratory energies that this circuit conveys are at a higher frequency than the H network and strike from top to bottom, resulting in very harmful geopathogenic effects. Naturally, the length of the band varies according to the latitude and telluric radiation of the place, as well as the intensity of radiation and atmospheric disturbances. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that all H and C networks increase their vibratory effectiveness from midnight to 3 am.

BIOARCHITECTURE ARTICLE

BY ARCH. UGO SASSO

Principles and achievements

Architecture that is attentive to the environment and life has been talked about for some time now, even if the achievements completed, beyond a few houses built for oneself or for a homeopathic friend, are still very few.

The problem is that ecological architecture is not just a style applicable to a finished product, it does not contemplate standardized solutions capable of transforming an insensitive intervention into the home of dreams.

Instead, it is a matter of adopting a more correct attitude at every moment of the design and construction, capable of mediating the different needs (organizational, distributive, economic), combining them with the coordinates of Bio-compatibility and eco-sustainability. In this sense, it is a matter of recovering a culture of design that, at different scales, cares more about substance than image, remembering that even the smallest intervention interferes with the previous balances and changes the interior anyway, so building is always an act of violence against nature.

So, before designing, renovating, intervening, you need to talk, listen, feel the owners the place the sky the wind. Here are some general rules on the organization of a healthy home.

First of all it must breathe, that is, allow the exchange of air, dispose of humidity and allow the passage of radiation that comes from the cosmos.
Dampen, filter, select the extreme world (polluting noises, cold and heat, foreign presences, etc.).
Use natural materials (wood, lime, magnesium, earth, terracotta, cork, wool, linen). Be wary of plastics and new products (experimentation on humans is not advisable).
Avoid any waste of energy both in the construction and maintenance phases. Solar energy does not cost and is essential for life: open air, glass gardens, thermal accumulation in walls, solar panels, etc.
Imitate heating to the minimum necessary. Avoid types of heating that, by moving the air, raise dust and microbes. The sun heats by radiation: this is the best way. So large radiant surfaces (stoves, walls, long system runs), no to radiant floors.
Highly fear glues, paints, chemical solvents of any kind. Remember that materials have a color that is beautiful even when it ages and changes. Do not look for an aseptic and perfect house, but a comfortable house that grows with us.
Pay particular attention to electromagnetic pollution, therefore shielded cables and appliances, excellent earthing, distance from the station places of any ferromagnetic mass. Remember that magnetic fields are not shielded by walls and therefore also act beyond the walls.
Love greenery so that nature enters between the walls and helps to purify and oxygenate the air: plants everywhere except in the bedrooms.
Give care and consideration to the bedroom, if you do not sleep well your energies are not recharged. Therefore no spatial furnishings but simplicity and affection in things. The bed should be on the north-south axis, possibly with the head to the north. No synthetic materials. Springs, masses or metal stems and mirrors that look at the sleeper.
Save, recycle, recover (the old wardrobe or the fruit crates, the roof tiles or the disused sink). If we have participated in the construction, the house will be more ours.

ARTICLE BIOEDILIZIA

BY ARCH. UGO SASSO

Does science copy nature, adapt to it, or impose laws that are foreign to it? And what is nature, something that is inside or outside of us? We certainly define as natural what has remained foreign to human intervention, such as the forests of the Amazon or meteorological phenomena; yet, on reflection, we read as “natural” even the blooming on the balcony of a flower selected over time with clever artifices. In other respects, there is probably nothing, from the ice of Antarctica to the depths of the Oceans that has remained totally and simply foreign to the effects of human action.

In other words, it seems incongruous to distinguish man from everything that surrounds him, denying the rich continuity that links our living to the world (if our deepest essence were not natural, we could truly – and with impunity – overcome the need for any contact with the outside world). However, on the other hand, it also seems difficult to look at man as a being integrated into processes (if this were the case, if everything we do were “natural” by definition, it would not be possible for us to get off the tracks of equilibrium).

Unfortunately or fortunately, this is not the case. In fact, man, although part of the world, detaches himself from it and looks at it from the outside using a grid of behaviors and social, political, religious, ethical, artistic interpretations. In the long history of the Earth, the human factor appears to be completely new in that it is capable of inventing, innovating and changing to make the relationship with the environment more advantageous. Abilities that distinguish us from our surroundings by providing us with the privilege of intervening on it, on matter (see chemistry) and even on biological evolution itself (see genetically modified organisms). These are acquisitions that generations and groups pass on, giving rise to that anthropological phenomenon called culture.

So the dialectical term, the tragic opposition of which we are spectators and actors, is not so much Man / Nature, but rather between what is natural (that is, it follows intrinsic laws) and what is cultural (that is, it is the result of human elaborations and choices). Only today culture seems to be absorbed, sucked into technology.

Even science – here is another dialectical pole: Science and Technology – cannot be conceived without its applicative finalization. This is a completely modern fact, while in the past (think of Roman hydraulics, Chinese acupuncture, the botanical uses of primitive peoples) technology was based on empirical observation, on the reading of experience, without the need to respond and fit into theoretical constructions. Those were the times in which science was aimed at understanding the world and not – as in modernity – at stealing secrets to exploit. It is difficult to say how it will end.

In our time, the conquest of the clear awareness (is it a lot? is it a little?) that the crux of the problem is not in protecting the green, in organizing traffic or in using cork instead of rock wool; that is, that the possibility of establishing a new balance does not lie in the materials, in individual choices or in technology but rather in the recovery of perspectives, meanings, horizons.

BY PROF. GIULIANO BRESSA

Biocompatibility of materials used in construction and furniture

Various materials used in construction and furniture are the main source of indoor pollution, since the composition of commercial products contains many chemical components that cause gaseous emissions, including formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene, alcohol, heavy materials, all substances whose toxicity is known to us.

A study conducted by the American EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), which lasted for over 10 years, highlighted that some atmospheric pollutants are more concentrated in closed environments than outdoors, negatively affecting our state of health. In particular, it was observed that building materials and furniture can release toxic chemical substances for long periods of time. This is the case of insulating materials based on urea-formaldehyde foam which, in some conditions, such as high humidity, emit high levels of formaldehyde for long periods of time, a substance suspected of being carcinogenic to humans.

Another important source of indoor pollution is paints used in construction and furniture. They generally contain toxic solvents such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, xylene, toluene, which are among the primary causes of pollution, being volatile organic compounds (VOC). These chemical substances have in common, in addition to high volatility, also lipophilicity, which facilitates their absorption through the skin. They therefore easily reach the central nervous system (CNS), where even irreversible lesions occur with deficits in psychic abilities.

However, there are bio-ecological paints on the market based on natural components, particularly recommended for sensitive subjects such as children and people suffering from allergic diseases. For example, there is a wide range of wood protection products of natural origin, such as beeswax, linseed oil, shellac, resins and cooked oils, which are low in harmfulness.

In order to also reduce internal pollution, it is a good idea to orient your preferences towards the use of ecological products also with regard to plasters. Lime-based paints and glue-based or natural resin-based tempera paints are suitable for this purpose. In fact, they do not inhibit transpiration and are free from side effects on health. In green building, paints prepared by combining slaked lime with water and casein, which acts as a glue, are often used. This preparation has a high capacity to absorb the humidity that forms due to condensation, thus avoiding water dripping down the walls. Furthermore, lime paints degrade uniformly, due to progressive discoloration, unlike synthetic products that show a disfiguring degradation.

As for bio-building materials, wood is certainly ideal for many uses in homes. It is absolutely the healthiest to use for structures, furnishings, floors and coverings. Its properties are many: very elastic, good insulator and absorbent towards humidity. On the other hand, materials based on cement – asbestos and urea – formaldehyde foams should be avoided which, in addition to releasing extremely dangerous substances – waterproof the house, preventing healthy transpiration and the release of indoor pollutants to the outside. On the contrary, biocompatible materials such as cork, coconut fibers and cellulose have performance characteristics of considerable importance. For example, cork is impermeable to water and gases and is a good thermal and acoustic insulator. It is also resistant to wear, fire and electricity: it is non-toxic and rot-proof. Even cellulose fiber used as a thermal and acoustic insulator is a bio-ecological material that has the advantage of constituting a valid form of recovery especially from an environmental point of view, based on the recycling of discarded paper products.

As for floors, in addition to wood, linoleum is used in green building, which is made up of a homogeneous mixture of linseed oil, mineralized resins (coppals), vegetable resins and glycerophosphate resins mixed with inert materials such as wood flour and cork.

The mixture obtained is pressed onto jute and left to dry for several weeks.

Linoleum is an inert product, it does not emit harmful substances, it is a good insulator and easy to clean, resistant and economical. Another material for covering floors is carpet, which is usually made of a polyamide surface layer. However, this covering is not recommended for those who suffer from allergies as it is a real receptacle for dust and mites. Furthermore, carpet absorbs smoke and odors and then releases them slowly. Finally, it constitutes an excellent breeding ground for mold and pathogenic microorganisms as humidity stagnates there.

If you still want to cover the floor with carpet, it is advisable to choose the natural one without using synthetic glues for laying, taking care not to walk on it with shoes, not to smoke and not to keep pets in the house.